TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Butterfly effect does exist especially in silicon supply chian. A heat exchanger that exploded at a Mitsubishi Materials Corp. silicon plant last Thursday in Mie Prefecture, Japan, killing five people, and has been shut down on the next day, though didn't Tawan silicon firms that much, the price of polycrystalline silicon might go up.
According to an earlier report, FStech, Sino-American Silicon Inc., and Wafer Works, these three semicondoctor silicon firms all made a statement saying that the explotion of Mitsubishi didn't affect them since Mitsubishi wasn't a member of their supply chian.
However, the demand of polycrystalline silicon is much more than supply, adding this Mitsubishi Explotion the price of which is meant to be bullish. As soon as the price of polycrystalline silicon is going up, the price of wafer and cell will be rising, respectively.
Mitsubishi Materials Corp.is mainly specialized in producing polycrystalline silicon and annual output is 2,800 metric ton and is the main supplier to the world's second-largest wafer firm SUMCO, manufacturing wafers that is for semiconductor usage.
It is said that Sino-American Silicon Inc. and LCY Chemical Corp. will be profited due to the Mitsubishi explotion in terms of producing similar components, because of polycrystalline silicon never with weak demand.
EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, indicated that since high-efficiency wafer supply shortage remains and demand is still strong, both buyers and sellers have started to plan for February orders ahead of time. It’s projected that wafer price can reach US$1.0/piece in February. By then, Taiwanese manufacturers can be breakeven, and even turn around losses.
“Current data shows that wafer price for Taiwanese manufacturers has reached US$1.01-1.05/piece, which increased US$0.03-0.05/piece, a 3.1%-5.1% rise in contrast to December price.” said Arthur Hsu, research manager of EnergyTrend.
Nevertheless, based on the Chinese government friendly tax policy towards solar energy firms, and idle capacity restriction that all to be seen as favorable factors of wafers' price rise.
SUMCO and Sino-American Silicon Inc. both said that Mitsubishi Materials Corp. is taken small market share in world's semicondoctor polycrystalline silicon production. The main suppliers of world's semicondoctor polycrystalline silicon production are Japan's Tokuyama, the US's REC and Hemlock, and Germany's Wacker.
